There are many devices that have been suggested for use in golf driving ranges wherein golf balls are automatically teed up on a platform. Some of these devices include hoppers and the like located beside a tee which have a mechanism to transfer a golf ball directly to a tee, generally by a pivoting arm that deposits a ball on the tee. These devices, while being satisfactory, have certain problems, particularly as golfers are either lefthanded or righthanded, thus a hopper and transfer device beside a tee can generally only be used for either a righthanded or a lefthanded golfer.
There are other devices which incorporate a mechanism below the platform that the golfer stands on. In many of these cases, the tee itself moves downwards, and a ball placed on the tee prior to the tee moving upwards to the desired position. One example of such a device is shown by Fehrenbach et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,401.